Whitman Aid Fund Sets Age 65, Five-Year Residency as Core Eligibility Rules

WHITMAN — May 14, 2025 — Whitman's Aid to the Elderly and Disabled Taxation Fund Committee voted unanimously on all five core eligibility criteria for the town's new property-tax relief program at its May 14 meeting. The committee, chaired by John Galvin and meeting with members Ryan Dressel, Sharon LaPiccolo, and Ken Layla — with John Noska absent — set a minimum applicant age of 65, a five-year Whitman residency requirement, an income ceiling at 80 percent of HUD area median income for the Brockton metro region (approximately $68,000 for a single-person household under fiscal year 2024 figures), and a disability standard requiring current enrollment in a government-sponsored disability benefits program. The application deadline was set at October 1, timed to precede the December mailing of third- and fourth-quarter tax bills. Galvin proposed a tiered business-sponsorship model — platinum at $2,000, gold at $1,000, silver at $500, and bronze at $250 — to fund the program through private donations rather than taxpayer appropriations.